Thanks to the generosity of a good on-line friend I’ll be heading to Washington D.C. at the end of the month to experience the experience that must be experienced to count as an experience.Since the goals of Jon Stewart’s rally appear to be rather vague I’ve decided to take this opportunity to stage my own sponsored protest against the current climate of extremism and polarization plainly visible in most of the political commentary in America.If you only listened to the pundits on Fox and MSNBC you would be led to believe that Americans are sharply divided between those who consider Obama and his policies gifts from god and those who consider them to be inflicted on us by Satan. Moderate Americans have no voice these days. If you aren’t a part of one extreme political opinion or the other your point of view is unheard.It’s time for social and political moderates who don’t subscribe to the radical and too often non-sensical ideologies of either the far left or far right to stand up and demand that their opinions be counted. It’s time we show the extremists that their views offer no practical solutions to our country’s problems. We need to stop spending all of our time (and ‘news’ programming) on vilifying our opponents and get busy finding workable and realistic ways to get back on our feet. With that goal in mind I am pleased to announce my upcomingMarch for Mediocrity!On October 30th, 2010 I will be somewhere among the crowd gathered at the urging of Stewart and Steven Colbert with my own message for America…Let’s Restore Mediocrity and Celebrate the Mediocre.Lest you think that I’m proposing America become a mediocre nation let me explain how it’s in our best interest to strive for mediocrity and why moderates hold the best hope for the future of our nation.Mediocrity is a centrist position. It’s a social and political position that says both ends of the spectrum may have some good ideas but those ideas need to be considered in practical terms. We need to consider what’s best for both the government and the citizens of the U.S. To favor one over the other does a disservice to both. We need not only good proposals but realistic ideas of how to pay for them and an awareness of how those policies will affect future generations. Moderates consider factors that extremists ignore. Moderates approach social and political issues with intelligence and thoughtful consideration, unlike the extremists who only appeal to emotion and rhetoric.There’s another aspect of mediocrity that ought to be considered by anyone concerned for this country. To survive and prosper as a nation we need to abandon the notion that as Americans we deserve only the best and we shouldn’t have to settle for second-best.Remember what mom said, “All things in moderation”. We don’t need the very best of everything. We can’t afford the very best of everything. What we do need and can afford are those things that are good enough to meet our needs and accomplish our goals. In at least the near future we need to make do with less, to buy what we need rather than what we want, to settle for less. We’ve been spoiled by decades of living beyond our means, both as individuals and as a country. We are going to have to cut back and cut down on our desires if we want to have anything left for future generations. We need to moderate our lives.Perhaps saying I’m going to be ‘marching’ for mediocrity is a bit presumptuous. I’m not going to be marching like I did when I was in the Army near D.C. But, you know, ‘Wandering Around Aimlessly for Mediocrity” doesn’t have the same punch and it’s too long to make a decent headline. In truth I’m going to be lost somewhere in the crowd spreading my message of moderation and mediocrity.Please consider supporting me in this endeavor. I’m not asking for so-much-money-per-mile since I have no idea how much ground I’ll be able to cover. I’m not even asking that you send $50 to the political party of your choice to show solidarity with my position.Here’s what I want you to do. Search the couch and the pockets of your pants in the laundry basket and see if you don’t come up with a buck in random change. Take that dollar to your local donut shop on October 30th and buy yourself a medium cup of coffee and a plain cake donut. Around noon eat your donut and with your coffee offer a toast to a more moderate, mediocre and more practical future for America.See More

]]>Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:55:18 +000000000000001e3ee40000000000cac1c5756970b9626f7eb4Jack Carlson is now a member of Think Atheisthttp://www.thinkatheist.com/profile/JackCarlson?xg_source=activity
Jack Carlson is now a member of Think Atheist]]>Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:41:14 +0000